


Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me

by INMH



Series: trope-bingo Fanfiction Fills 2017 (2nd Quarter) [8]
Category: The Order: 1886
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Drama, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Humor, Romance, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-03 16:26:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11536005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INMH/pseuds/INMH
Summary: In a world where one finds their soul-mate by touch, Lafayette’s attempts at flirting don’t go over so well with Isabeau.





	Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me

The first time she realizes what he’s trying to do, she nearly decks him.  
  
“I know what you’re trying to do,” Isabeau growls. “And it’s not going to happen.”  
  
“ _Mademoiselle,_ wouldn’t it be wise to at least _test_ the-?”  
  
She pointedly crosses her arms and scooches to the other side of the carriage-seat. “The odds of us being soul-mates are a million to one, Lafayette. In any case, I’ve no desire to give in to some predetermined sixth-sense.”  
  
Lafayette folds his hands neatly on his lap and blinks innocently. “Of course, _Mademoiselle._ ”  
  
Grayson stares at them from the seat across from theirs. “Are you both done, now? Or should I wait to brief you on the mission?”  
  
Isabeau settles against the seat, glaring at the space next to Grayson’s head. “We’re fine. Go ahead.”  
  
“Wonderful.”  
  
[---]  
  
She should have just let him poke her.  
  
Because now it’s an obsession.  
  
The Marquis has a curious way of flirting, as far as Isabeau can tell- he seems to be the sort that wants to annoy his target into submission, poking (in her case, literally) and prodding until he gets a satisfactory response.  
  
Or maybe she’s just _lucky_.  
  
“Don’t _even_ think about it,” Isabeau snaps as the Marquis’s finger froze above her hand.  
  
“I’m afraid the more I try to not-think about it, I find myself… Thinking about it more,” The Marquis coos, batting his eyes at her.  
  
“ _Endeavor_ ,” Isabeau snaps.  
  
“I shall… _Try,_ Mademoiselle,” The Marquis makes a great show of pulling himself away from her, like it’s taking some great effort on his part. “I shall try.”  
  
“Idiot,” Isabeau grunts, and goes back to tending to her gun.  
  
[---]  
  
Next time, she smacks him with her book before he can get to her.  
  
“Goodness, you’re fast!” The Marquis says lightly, shaking his hand.  
  
“Of course I am,” Isabeau says testily, “I am a _Knight_.” The Marquis has retreated to a safe distance, but she still watches him warily. “Why are you so mad about this? Why are you so _desperate_ for me to be your soul-mate?”  
  
“Who says I want to be your soul-mate?” The Marquis giggles. “Maybe I just want you for the sake of wanting you.”  
  
That’s too simple of a response to satisfy her, and Isabeau shoos him from the room and locks the door behind him. She’ll answer for it later, but she’s determined not to give him his way.  
  
[---]  
  
They are on mission, waiting for Grayson to finish some reconnaissance, and the Marquis tries again. He just about chases Isabeau around the rooftop they’re on, trying desperately to poke her, with her squawking at him to stop and flapping at him with her own hands. They must make quite a scene, because eventually their leader puts his foot down.  
  
“ _Enough!_ ” Sebastien snaps at them. “I’ll throw you both from the roof if you don’t cease with the theatrics. You are _Knights._ Act like it!”  
  
He turns back to the edge, looking for Grayson. Isabeau _glowers_ at the Marquis and mouths, _‘See what you’ve done?’_  
  
The Marquis does look sorry… But there’s a smile on his face.  
  
[---]  
  
“And he yelled at both of us! The Marquis is the one who started it!”  
  
Grayson snickers a little. “You sound like a _child_ , Isabeau,” He says it in a tone that is both fond and scolding.  
  
“But he _did!_ ”  
  
“And _you_ have encouraged it,” Grayson says, rolling his eyes. “You’ve treated this as much of a game as he has- you smack him away, you more or less played tag with him the day Perceval reprimanded you, and you’ve done nothing to seriously discourage him. You have not looked him in the eye and said ‘Marquis, I am not comfortable with your attentions, please stop.’”  
  
“How would you know?”  
  
“Because I know the Marquis, Isabeau, as do you. If you _had_ made your discomfort clear, he would have stopped immediately instead of treating it as a joke.” Grayson raises an eyebrow at her. “Unless, of course, you _enjoy_ the game?”  
  
“Of course not!” Isabeau snaps, maybe a little too quickly. “Of course I don’t. It’s ridiculous and childish. I don’t like it at all.”  
  
[---]  
  
Alright, it’s less that she _likes_ the attention and more that she likes the challenge.  
  
The Marquis’s challenge is to touch but a _tiny_ piece of Isabeau’s skin and determine if they are soul-mates.  
  
Isabeau’s challenge is to stop him.  
  
And damn them both, Isabeau likes a challenge.  
  
When the Marquis makes his next attempt, Isabeau catches his wrist in her hand. “As much as I enjoy depriving you of a victory, Marquis,” She drawls, “I think this needs to stop. We’ve been reprimanded by Perceval, and knowing whether or not I’m your soul-mate does not outweigh the-”  
  
“I _know_ you’re not my soul-mate.”  
  
Isabeau’s mouth hangs open… And then falls shut. She releases his wrist. “How do you know that?”  
  
The Marquis is silent for a moment, pulling idly at the fingers of his gloves. Then he says, “Because my soul-mate has come and gone from this world: My dear Adrienne, my wife of many years before her death at the turn of the century. We are forever connected, but alas, temporarily parted in death.” He smiles sadly at Isabeau. “So yes, Isabeau, I know that we are not soul-mates.”  
  
Isabeau stares at him. “Then why…?” She gestures helplessly, and he chuckles.  
  
“I told you before,” Lafayette says, with a hint of amusement in his voice. “Maybe I don’t want to be your soul-mate. Maybe I simply want you for the sake of wanting you. Among other things,” He assures. “You are an impressive woman.”  
  
Isabeau isn’t sure what to say to that.  
  
She had assumed this was childish flirting, and is unsure how to handle the fact that the Marquis has, in fact, had a soul-mate, lost her, and still managed to find romantic interest in someone else (which is not especially common). Now she’s concerned she might hurt him.  
  
“Well,” Isabeau says, slowly, “I suppose… We can talk.”  
  
The Marquis’s smile is wide, and without its previous mischief.  
  
“That is all I ask for, _Mademoiselle_.”  
  
He takes her hand, avoiding the skin of her wrist near the glove, and kisses it.  
  
-End


End file.
